Explore: AR TOP 100 Apparel Exporters of India

The last two years have been very difficult for the industry and despite our best efforts, getting the industry to share information on its turnover and growth plans has not been an easy task at all. However, 52 companies did share their data, and we salute their spirit as they understand the importance of putting together the Top 100 listing. Another 18 are public limited companies and collecting their data was not so challenging…what was challenging was analysing the facts gained from market sources and coming up with an approximate figure for the rest. There will be discrepancies for sure, but the intention is not so much to talk about individual achievements, but to highlight the way industry is moving at the top.

Of course, many will argue that if the big guys are doing well, it does not equate to the whole industry doing well…. in fact official data claims that in FY 2017-18, exports declined by 4% to US $ 16.7 billion. These facts are reality, but we must remember that only 100 among the best companies with a turnover exceeding Rs. 40 crore are on our list, and it is because of their growth that India could end the financial year with just 4% decline inspite of being marred by major liquidity crunch due to implementation of GST and the effects of demonetisation.

If these growth propellers had not continued to grow their toplines, garment exports from the country as a whole would not have grown with just 4% decline. Talking to these export leaders, it is obvious that though their toplines grew, their profitability took a big hit. Just saying that there was overall growth is only an eyewash and the real situation is indeed worrying and as per latest data, the downturn in overall exports continues and in this year, even some top players have stopped working on their toplines. Although the next six months will clear the position, Team Apparel Resources analyses the data collected for the Top 100 companies in our annual list

Toplines grow for most companies… major findings

As per estimates, these 100 companies in FY 2016-17 (FY’17) registered a total turnover of Rs. 31,036.24 crore, and the same set of companies saw 11.8% growth in the turnover of FY 2017-18 (FY’18) to register a total turnover of Rs. 34,699 crore.

There are 16 companies with turnovers exceeding Rs. 500 crore, registering a combined turnover of Rs. 21,569 crore in FY’ 18. These same set of companies registered a turnover of Rs. 18,903 crore in FY’ 17, hence leading to a collective growth of 14% as far as turnover is concerned.

In the segment of Rs. 200 core to Rs. 500 crore, there are 22 companies with a combined turnover of Rs. 6,690 crore in FY’ 18. The number of companies in this bracket were 17 in the last financial year with a collective turnover of Rs. 5,117 crore. This indicates that five companies have moved into this segment in the last financial year.

30 companies fall in the turnover bracket of Rs. 100-200 crore in FY’ 18 with combined turnover of Rs. 4,364 crore, whereas in FY’ 17, there were 34 companies in this bracket with a collective turnover of Rs. 4,956 crore.

There are 32 exporters in the last rung of Rs. 40-100 crore in FY’ 18 while the number of companies in FY’ 17 was 33. The combined turnover in FY’ 18 is Rs. 2,076 crore while it was Rs. 2,060.24 crore last year.

Delhi-NCR holds its position as the leader in AR’s TOP 100 companies

Though business in Delhi-NCR has taken a major hit with many of the medium and small exporters struggling to survive, yet a majority of the companies in AR TOP 100 are from this region, which only goes to prove that value addition is still a strong strength for both India and the Delhi- NCR players. In this year’s AR TOP 100, the Delhi-NCR region is the most represented area with 43% players coming from this region.

sr.

Full name of the company

Year of Estb.

Owner/CXO of company with designation

Head Office

Product specialization in Garments

Company structure: Public ltd/Pvt. Ltd.

Estimated Worker Strength

Garment export Turnover FY 2016-17

Garment export Turnover FY. 2017-18

All figures have been obtained from company sources and Apparel Resources Pvt. Ltd. / Apparel Online is not legally responsible for any misrepresentation.
* These figures have been sourced from market and have been specifically mentioned as such.
Sl. No. as per turnover in FY-2017-18. NA - Not Available.
Expected turnover for FY 2017-18, shared by some companies have been presumed as their actual turnover for the same FY

Overall, Gurgaon has 8 companies, Noida has 19 companies, Delhi has 10 companies and Faridabad has 6 companies on the list. The collective turnover of this region as represented in the listing is Rs. 18,672 crore, which is 53.81% of the total turnover represented by the listing. Of the total players in this region represented on the list, there are 28 exporters having turnover of more than Rs. 100 crore.

With 14 and 12 players respectively on the list, Tirupur and Bangalore occupy the second spot

The second-most represented region in AR TOP 100 is Tirupur with 14 companies with a collective turnover of Rs.3,727 crore in garment exports. The region has made a good comeback, after a few dull years and there are 9 companies from this area with a turnover of above Rs. 100 crore, with Eastman Exports leading the way. It is to be noted here that this region has seen some bad times because of many reasons including competition from Bangladesh on basics, but the region has really upgraded its capabilities and is now giving some very high value knit products, which has helped it remain on the preferred destination list.

Exporters from Bangalore are also well represented with 12 players with a collective turnover of Rs 4,847 crore in exports. Of the 12 players listed, 10 are having turnover of above Rs. 100 crore which is indeed impressive.

Bangalore has always been the goto place for international retailers looking for structured clothing be it formal shirts, trousers or denimwear. The sewing and washing facilities in the city are among the best available in the country. Even Shahi, which technically is counted from the Delhi-NCR region, has a very strong base in Bangalore. The city is all about volume production and good technology.

Mumbai is represented in the AR TOP 100 list by just 9 companies with a collective turnover of Rs. 1,504 crore, out of which 4 are having a turnover of more than Rs. 100 crore in garment exports. Other manufacturing bases represented include 5 players from Chennai with a collective turnover of Rs. 914 crore, with four companies having a turnover of above Rs. 100 crore. The remaining players come from diverse centres like Ludhiana, Indore, Salem, Kolkata and Jaipur. We have taken company locations as per head offices and as repeatedly mentioned, it is a bit difficult to segregate turnovers by regions as many companies have headquarters in one city but factories in others.

Though the list is not without its weak points, it is a reflection that the industry leaders want to grow and are asking for efforts to stay relevant for the international buyers. In all these years that we have been doing AR TOP 100, we have continuously stressed that it does not matter if an individual company is doing well or not, what is important is how the industry is collectively doing and what are the directions so that policy makers of the apparel export industry can take informed decisions and support the industry in its growth.

Also, buyers who religiously look up at the listing can clearly analyse how key companies are doing and get an update on the strengths of the companies that are not familiar to them. Further, AR TOP 100 is the only survey of Indian apparel exporters and is not just a ranking on the base of turnover. It even highlights the direction of the entire industry discussing what the industry feels on critical issues like steps which are the need of the hour; achievements, obstacles, CSR and sustainable efforts; it’s basically an effort to present the real picture of the apparel industry to every stakeholder of this industry.